The purpose of this renewal application for predoctoral and postdoctoral training is to prepare nurse researchers, substantively and methodologically, to conduct research that is designed to improve the quality of health care and thereby contribute to the achievement of optimal patient outcomes. The Institute of Medicine's criteria for quality health care - safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity - provide the organizing framework for the training program. Based on identified advancements and challenges in the field since the training program was originally funded, two new focus areas are proposed. The first is a focus on clinical outcomes measurement, the second a focus on research translation/health policy. Upon completion of the program, trainees will be prepared to develop the evidence base to guide the provision of quality care, to evaluate that evidence, and to translate the evidence into the delivery of improved health care services and patient outcomes. The predoctoral training program builds on the current nursing doctoral program by preparing beginning researchers with the knowledge and skills necessary to design and conduct research studies that advance the evidence base for improving the quality of health care and patient outcomes. Trainees will enroll in structured courses, participate in enhanced research experiences, attend several on-going seminar series focused on quality and outcomes, and participate actively in multidisciplinary quality- and outcomes-related research. The postdoctoral training program prepares an investigator to independently conduct studies to improve the quality of health care and enhance patient outcomes using sophisticated conceptual/theoretical frameworks, complex research designs, and advanced statistical techniques. The School of Nursing will continue its successful partnership with the Department of Health Administration and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research to bring together an outstanding group of extramurally-funded faculty from nursing and related disciplines for the training program. A total of 12 predoctoral and 8 postdoctoral trainees will be supported over the 5 years of the training program. Two predoctoral trainees will continue from the current funding period - one for 1 year and one for 2 years;one postdoctoral trainee will continue for one year from the current funding period. RELEVANCE: This is a grant proposal to support a research training program that will prepare scientists at the doctoral and postdoctoral level, to evaluate quality of care and patient outcomes in a variety of care delivery settings.